"Hyeyoon,"
I heard a familiar voice. It was a faint whisper muttering my name repeatedly. I focused on my hearing, sharpening my sense, and listening to it once again.
"Hyeyoon," the voice called again, this time sounding clearer. I frowned; the voice was so familiar. I tried a few times to open my eyes, but I felt numbness even in my eyelids. Was I dreaming?
"Baby," he whispered again, and this time I almost could recognize it when suddenly I felt someone patted on my right shoulder. My eyes abruptly shot open. There was nothing I could see besides all the white. Still sensing the touch on my right shoulder, I turned around hesitantly.
There was a hand. A man? He was wearing a white long sleeve shirt, but he rolled up the sleeve just enough to show the watch he was wearing. My eyes widened. I immediately recognized the watch as the same one I had bought years ago.
My heart was thumping rapidly as I now wholly faced the figure in front of me. The look in my eyes confirmed that the figure might be someone I knew. The sun's rays hit my eyes as the sound of waves rumbled from my surrounding. Unfortunately, I was late to realize that I was standing by the seashore, barefooted and wearing a thin layer of a white dress.
The man who stood a few steps away from me was blocking the sun. I stepped forward to reach him, but the more I tried to take one step forward, the farther he was away.
"No," I tried to say a word, but it came out as a meaningless whimper.
I felt the rush to run toward him, yet the man was getting further and further away. My steps felt heavier, "No, don't go," I was desperately trying to shout, but I choked on my own words.
"Come back," my voice cracked as I forcefully shouted. But unfortunately, he didn't seem to hear anything as the gap was getting unreachable.
I could barely move my feet as if the sand swallowed them. I panted and started crying hard. The words that hardly came out were merely pleas—hoping the figure would return, or at least never let me go.
* * *
I gasped and panted hard, gagging for air, and as I finally regained consciousness, I stared blankly at the ceiling of my hotel room. It was dark.
My face was completely wet; the tears kept flowing even when I tried to get up from the bed. Finally, I sat on the edge of my bed, palmed my face, and tried to catch my breath. When I finally calmed down, I slowly tapped the bedside lamp.
There was still a familiar sting in my chest. The familiar ache that seemed unable to heal even after years. I breathed in and out slowly. I hardly believed that I had a dream about him again, yet this time, the pain remained. I thought the time had already healed the wound. But it seemed like it wasn't.
I remember the first time I met Jeein again was when she invited me to have dinner with her two months after I returned to South Korea. We both talked a lot almost about everything. When she accidentally brought up the topic of Seok-woo. I couldn't hide my curiosity.
"So, you threw the gift away?" I asked her. Jeein seemed a bit nervous initially, but then she stared at me with a convincing look.
"Yes, I threw it away," Jeein sipped her drink before continuing, "so stop talking about him. I don't want to hear anything about the past," flashing her mischievous grin. Jeein leaned forward enthusiastically.
"Now, tell me about your boyfriend, I know you have one. He's so handsome, oh my goodness, Hyeyoon, he's hot," Jeein exclaimed.
I laughed at her. "Please, Jeein. You have Youngdae already," I reminded her. I was so glad at the news that they were ready to tie the knot very soon. They announced their engagement two days ago and will hold the engagement party next month.
"I know," the girl smugly said, "but I'm glad you have him now, Hyeyoon; at least I won't feel so guilty to leave you alone and get married. I think he's a good man," Jeein added.
"He is," I agreed. Kiyong was indeed a great man. Too good to be true, and sometimes I felt I didn't deserve him.
"Did he know your past, Hyeyoon?" Jeein's sudden question was taken me aback and left me speechless.
She saw my nervousness, and I quickly composed my state, "Yes, he did, but not in detail," I chose my words carefully, and Jeein judged my expression.
"You don't have to tell him everything, but please be honest with your relationship, Hyeyoon, don't hide anything. You know how it feels when your lover hides something behind your back," Jeein's words were like a slap on my face. She was right.
"I know," I said finally. "Thanks for reminding me,"
A sound of alarm jolted me back to reality. It was 7.00 AM; I woke up first before the alarm because of the dream. I facepalmed to brush everything off. I had to move on. I reminded myself frustratingly. The day I decided to leave him three years ago was the day I decided to move forward.
But the sudden feeling that harshly crept into my chest was strange and new. Three years had passed, and this was the first time I felt this way. The sudden urge to hear his voice and his presence around me was never this strong.
"What's wrong with me?"
My phone vibrated. A message from Kiyong
Kiyong Oppa
07.05
Baby, wake up already? We need to get prepared to go to the company today.
I got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom while replying to his text. I told him that I'd be ready in 20 minutes.
* * *
Monday morning in Beijing seemed not that different from Seoul. As it was the first day of the week, everything looked busy, and the traffic was quite heavy today. After finishing our breakfast, Kiyong was informed that a car would get us to the microchip IT Company for today's briefing.
We arrived at a large building in the center of the district, and someone immediately approached and led the two of us to the 24th floor of the skyscraper.
"Mr. Xu is already waiting," the guy let us into the waiting room and gestured to the nearby couch.
"He'll be here in a moment," the staff added before excusing himself.
Five minutes later, the middle-aged man I saw last night at the Gala entered the room and smiled warmly at the two of us. Both of us immediately stood and bowed.
"It's okay, take it easy," he took a seat on the couch right in front of us and let us take a seat. He stared at me first, then nodded and turned to Kiyong.
"Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Xu. The ceremony was epic," Kiyong started, and the man in front of us laughed in satisfaction at the compliment.
"You enjoyed the party, right?" he sounded.
Kiyong smiled and agreed, "Yes, it was delighted, Sir,"
The following discussion started with the concept of the building, as the owner requested. They wanted to build the Seoul Headquarters resembling the Beijing HQ. 10 minutes of short briefing, Mr. Xu then walked us to the entire building with a total of 37floors.
"We don't need to build a total of 37 floors in Seoul HQ. Build in total 25 - 30 floors will do," Mr. Xu mentioned his request. The company has merged its business with a famous department store in Seoul, which was a joint building construction. Mr. Xu added to the proposal to build a seven floors department store below the main tower.
"Noted that, Mr. Xu," Kiyong concluded.
"Ah, I almost forgot," Mr. Xu then talked to the staff behind him in Mandarin for a short moment before turning to us again, letting the staff speak to the phone, "our delegation from Seoul will help you to design the detail, he was just graduated from Netherland, and since he's a Korean, I believe the communication with the designer company will be a lot easier,"
He talked again with the staff after he finished the call. He then looked at both of us.
The staff told us, "Unfortunately, he's back to Seoul already this morning," he handed a business card to me, and I took it. Read the name briefly and his contact information.
Marcelino Kim, Head of Program Department.
"Thank you," I nodded to the staff.
The briefing ended that day at 4 PM; Mr. Xu offered dinner together before we caught the flight back to Seoul at 9.15 PM.
"Don't worry, the company driver will drive you to the airport," Mr. Xu then told the staff to arrange dinner at the nearest five-star restaurant.
Kiyong gladly accepted the offer. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr Xu. I will make sure to provide you with the best design for the Seoul HQ," Kiyong reached out for a handshake which Mr. Xu responded with equal excitement.
"I know the credibility of your company beforehand, Mr Jang, I don't have any doubt at all,"
* * *
It was dark already as the plane was now hovering at 38.000 feet above the land and stayed air bound for around 40 minutes.
We sat in a business class, and Kiyong dimmed the light above us to let me sleep. The time was already 10 minutes to 10 PM.
He pushed a button, so the seat was now set flat, and arranged the pillow and blanket. "Rest, Baby," he sounded.
His attention touched me toward me, and suddenly the feeling from Jeein's reminder hit me right away. The flight attendance left us alone as the business class passengers were only the two of us tonight.
I slowly grabbed his hand, and Kiyong stared at me, questioning my action. "What? Do you need anything?"
I shook my head and pulled him by his hand to move closer to me. "Kiss me," I asked him in a whisper.
He chuckled at my impulsive behavior. "What? We're in a plane now, Miss Hyeyoon, don't try to seduce me,"
I laughed shyly and just pulled him even closer. He then granted my wish with a soft kiss right on my lips at first. Then, he gently adjusted his position and let me lean to his right arm while he pulled me into his hug.
"What? Are you letting me to touch you now?" he teased.
"I need a kiss now," I whispered back, and he sighed.
He stared at me deeply into my eyes and stroked the strands of my hair slowly, "As you wish," he pulled me tightly into his hug and started kissing me gently before deepening the kiss, devouring the taste of our sweetness. He didn't rush anything, he just granted my wish, and I gladly accepted his touch.
He moved his hand, reached my chin, and pulled it up to capture my lips. He caressed the soft skin of my cheek, and I could feel my heart start to ease. His movement wasn't so demanding, and he let my body slowly give in to the emotion. He never forced anything, and he was always the one who patiently waited for me to open up. And I was so grateful to have this man in my life.
He parted the kiss and touched both of my cheeks, and gave a light kiss on my forehead. "Sleep baby, I will wake you up when we landed. You have two hours," he then tenderly sounded and let me lay on the seat comfortably.
"Thank you," I sounded.
He smiled and followed to lie down beside me while watching me sleep.
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A/N:
Here's the double update...
And for additional information, I won't hesitate to put some intimate scenes between Kiyong and Hyeyoon since it's needed in this story. Hehe...
One factor that made me hesitate on how to put up their story was because someone requested me not to write any intimate scenes for them. Hehe... I'm sorry, but it will be strange to put her not letting Kiyong touch her at all as he is her current boyfriend. But after some consideration, I decided to make some limitations to it. And I will reveal the reason behind it as the story progresses.
So, I will leave it here and thank you for the feedback... I'm so thankful for everyone who loves this story so far.
Till we meet again in the next update~
Much Love~